Luanda — Angolan minister of Telecommunications, Information Technologies and Social Communication Mário Oliveira said Wednesday the newly launched Angosat2 satellite into orbit will leverage the oil and gas sector in Angola, in terms of telecommunications.

The minister said today the country, through the staff belonging to the national special programme, has conditions to provide the oil sector and others with systems that allow to determine oil spills, among other services.

Speaking at the Conference on Technologies and Innovation, sponsored by Mercury Serviços de Telecomunicações (MSTelcom), a subsidiary of the Sonangol Group, Mário Oliveira underlined the role of Angosat2 and the earth observation system.

He added that the Executive is in a position to provide the oil sector, what it considers to be the needs of the oil market and others.

"Angosat2 is a very big investment that the country has developed. It is a component of the National Space Programme that includes the ground observation system", he recalled.

In addition to Angosat2, he said that the Government started the fiber optic expansion project, which is crucial for the oil exploration ecosystem.

The official also mentioned the space applications, as one of the projects the country can provide to the oil sector.

Angola also joined the "2 Africa" cable, one of the largest fiber optic cables in construction.

"The oil sector can rely on the country's valences and intelligence in what is being done in terms of telecommunications and information technologies", the minister has stressed.

He added that in the last 20 to 25 years, Angolan Government has spent "heavily" on a cyclical way in basic telecommunications networks, whether via satellite, microwave or fiber optics.

Today, the country has a set of three international fiber optic cables that dock in Angola, of which, the SACS, the only cable that connects Africa with South America.